Advancement in higher education: the role of marketing in building philanthropic giving

This paper empirically explores ways in which marketers of higher education can contribute to the important task of cultivating alumni philanthropy. Advancement professionals understand that philanthropy is influenced by wealth and affinity. As marketers, we anticipate that our contribution resides...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of marketing for higher education 2014-07, Vol.24 (2), p.243-256
Main Authors: McAlexander, James H., Koenig, Harold F., DuFault, Beth
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
affinity
Alumni
enthusiasm
Fiscal Capacity
Fund Raising
Graduate Surveys
Higher Education
Marketing
Measures (Individuals)
Philanthropy
Predictor Variables
Private Financial Support
Regression (Statistics)
Regression analysis
Student Recruitment
Student School Relationship
United States (West)
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Summary:This paper empirically explores ways in which marketers of higher education can contribute to the important task of cultivating alumni philanthropy. Advancement professionals understand that philanthropy is influenced by wealth and affinity. As marketers, we anticipate that our contribution resides with investments in building affinity. Using survey data that measure the affinity of alumni of a large US university who have been commercially screened to reveal individual wealth, this paper provides empirical evidence of the relative contributions of affinity and wealth to giving. Logistic regression analysis reveals that affinity has a greater impact on predicting the likelihood of giving than other variables, including prior giving and wealth. Important to marketers, this study emphasizes the importance of building affinity and also uncovers obstacles to affinity formation. This information can be used to bridge and repair alumni relationships with their alma mater and inform segmented marketing communications to foster alumni enthusiasm for giving.
ISSN:0884-1241
1540-7144
DOI:10.1080/08841241.2014.969797